July 21, 2013

For Jason Hatcher, the injury to Tyrone Crawford on Sunday
looked like something he has seen before.

“It looked pretty bad. I don’t want to lie,” ‘Hatcher said. “I’ve
seen that before. Greg Ellis, I’ve seen him go down the same way. Hopefully it’s
just a strained calf and not an Achilles.”

The Cowboys are afraid it might be an Achilles tear for
Crawford, their second-year defensive end, who executive vice president Stephen
Jones called their “top young defensive lineman.”

Crawford went down in pain during a slalom drill against
tackling dummies. He held his left ankle and said, “Achilles!” He banged his
hand against the ground in frustration as teammates and trainers came over to
him.

An Achilles tear is typically season-ending. Last year, rookie
linebacker Caleb McSurdy tore his Achilles in training camp and missed the
entire season. In 2006, Greg Ellis suffered an Achilles tear but came back the
following year to post 12.5 sacks.

Hatcher is optimistic about Crawford, too.

“Because we need that guy, man. That guy was coming on,”
Hatcher said. “He was coming into his own. He’s got scary potential if he can
just get back. Even if he’s done, he’s going to be a great player in this
league. We’re going to pray for him. He’s going to be OK.”